{"rewrite":{"id":"r_39dd65588dee0f127f7861b0","clusterId":"c_c8690762d192bae2cba44252","slug":"outlast-footage-ties-psychopathic-traits-to-fear-enjoyment-in-canadian-study","model":"deepseek-v4-1-flash","headline":"Outlast Footage Ties Psychopathic Traits to Fear Enjoyment in Canadian Study","summary":"A research team at multiple Canadian universities published a paper on October 10 in Psychological Reports examining why people with stronger psychopathic traits tend to enjoy fear. Two surveys, one with 825 participants, measured psychopathic tendencies and a sense of invincibility, then had participants rate their emotions after watching footage including gameplay of the horror game Outlast. Invincibility showed a significant link to psychopathic traits and helped explain smaller negative reactions to fear.","whyItMatters":"Outlast, a 2013 survival horror game, is now the stimulus in peer-reviewed research linking psychopathic traits to fear enjoyment through a sense of invincibility, not boredom.","webCardHtml":"\u003cp\u003eThe study ran two surveys with different samples and question sets. The first drew 425 undergraduates from two Canadian universities and 400 people recruited through a crowdsourcing service. Participants rated their own emotional responses to videos that included Outlast gameplay.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eBoredom proneness was tied to psychopathic traits but did not explain why some people enjoy fear, according to the findings. Invincibility, the belief that \u0026#34;I won\u0026#39;t get hurt,\u0026#34; carried a significant mediating effect, though the authors note mediation does not establish causality.\u003c/p\u003e","blueskyPost":"The Canadian study's finding is that invincibility, not psychopathic traits alone, carried the link to smaller negative reactions during Outlast footage. That names a specific mechanism, not a general lack of fear.","twitterPost":"In the Outlast study, invincibility did the explaining: it tracked with psychopathic traits and accounted for smaller negative reactions to the footage.","threadsPost":"The Outlast footage study points at invincibility rather than psychopathic traits on their own. Participants who scored higher on that sense of being untouchable reported smaller negative reactions to fear, and it was invincibility that carried the link.","newsletterBlurb":"A team from multiple Canadian universities published a paper in Psychological Reports on why people with stronger psychopathic traits tend to enjoy fear. Participants watched footage including Outlast gameplay and rated their emotions. A sense of invincibility helped explain reduced negative reactions to fear, while boredom proneness did not explain fear enjoyment.","attributionJson":"[{\"source\":\"Automaton\",\"url\":\"https://automaton-media.com/articles/newsjp/20261029-476514/\",\"title\":\"People with stronger psychopathic tendencies may \\\"enjoy horror games more\\\": Research using footage from 'Outlast' probes the psychology of being \\\"fearless\\\"\"}]","lintFlagsJson":null,"lintHits":0,"costUsd":0,"inputTokens":5160,"outputTokens":669,"status":"published","repairAttempts":0,"nextRepairAt":null,"factsAttemptedAt":1793277270,"createdAt":"2026-10-29T12:30:09.000Z","publishedAt":"2026-10-29T12:33:25.000Z","updatedAt":"2026-10-29T12:33:25.000Z"},"cluster":{"id":"c_c8690762d192bae2cba44252","canonicalTitle":"サイコパス傾向が強い人ほど「ホラーゲームをもっと楽しめる」のかも。『Outlast』の映像を用いた研究が迫る、“怖いもの知らず”の心理","representativeArticleId":"a_ad95f3c800428bf88b41a529","sourceCount":1,"writtenSourceCount":1,"writeAttempts":0,"isSolo":true,"entitiesJson":"{\"anime_titles\":[],\"manga_titles\":[],\"work_titles\":[\"Outlast\"],\"studios\":[],\"people\":[],\"type\":\"news\",\"domain\":\"games\",\"is_roundup\":false}","contentType":"news","status":"published","firstSeenAt":"2026-10-29T11:43:55.000Z","lastSeenAt":"2026-10-29T11:43:55.000Z","updatedAt":"2026-10-29T12:33:25.000Z"},"attribution":[{"source":"Automaton","url":"https://automaton-media.com/articles/newsjp/20261029-476514/","title":"サイコパス傾向が強い人ほど「ホラーゲームをもっと楽しめる」のかも。『Outlast』の映像を用いた研究が迫る、“怖いもの知らず”の心理"}],"entities":{"anime_titles":[],"manga_titles":[],"work_titles":["Outlast"],"studios":[],"people":[],"type":"news","domain":"games","is_roundup":false},"keyFacts":["The paper is titled \"Psychopathy and Fear Enjoyment: The Role of Invincibility and Boredom Proneness\" and is scheduled for Psychological Reports.","Participants watched videos including gameplay footage of the 2013 survival horror game Outlast and rated their emotions.","The first survey had 825 participants, including 425 undergraduates from two Canadian universities and 400 recruited online.","Invincibility showed a significant association with psychopathic traits and a mediating effect on small negative emotions toward fear.","Boredom proneness was associated with psychopathic traits but did not explain enjoying fear in the study."],"pageLinks":{"healthSlugs":["outlast"],"storySlugs":[],"entities":[{"slug":"outlast","supported":0,"disputed":0,"contradicted":0,"unverified":0,"overall":"unverified","story_count":2,"has_dossier":true}],"stories":[],"entitiesOk":true,"storiesOk":true}}